Princeton University Athletics
Crew Starts 2006-07 Season With Impressive Showings At Head Of The Charles
October 23, 2006 | Heavyweight Rowing, Women's Rowing - Open, Women's Rowing - Lightweight, Men's Rowing - Lightweight
While we may be several months away from crowning the 2007 Eastern and national champions in collegiate crew, several Princeton programs made an early statement at the past weekend's Head of the Charles. Once again, the talent in Orange and Black is plentiful, and several programs will be heard from in the nation's top races next year.
The Head of the Charles brings together the best crews from both the intercollegiate field and several international areas. Princeton sent a varsity eight from each program into a championship race, but it also was able to race in several fours and novice races. Three of the varsity eights finished as the top collegiate finisher, including both of the women's programs.
The open women, who claimed every race it was involved in last spring, including the 2006 NCAA grand final, finished third overall and first among college teams with a time of 16:13.109. The next two collegiate finishers were Virginia (fourth) and Yale (fifth). The lightweight women, which topped every major program at least once last season but struggled in the championship races, looks in good form after placing second overall and first among colleges. Princeton finished in 17:12.974, topping fourth-place Wisconsin and fifth-place Racliffe.
"These fall results are a testament to the dedicated training our athletes put in on their own over the summer," head coach Paul Rassam said afterwards. "It's always fun to start the year off with some wins. Having said that, there is much that we will need to improve upon as we head towards the spring season."
The men's lightweights built off an impressive third-place finish at the 2006 IRA championships with another strong performance at the Charles. Greg Hughes' squad placed fourth overall and first among colleges in a time of 14:48.719. That time topped Navy (fifth) and 2006 national champion Cornell (10th), the next two collegiate finishers.
The men's heavyweights placed 10th overall and fourth among colleges in a time of 14:37.916. It was going to be nearly impossible to match its 2005 performance, when it became the first collegiate crew in 22 years to win the Head of the Charles championship overall. With several members of that championship crew having graduated last May, it was a good chance for the new varsity eight to get some big-race experience.
The novice racers also made a good first showing at the Charles. The men's Youth 8+, which races both heavyweights and lightweights, finished second to California by less than two seconds. The closest Ivy League program was Yale, which placed fifth. The men's Youth 4+ placed fourth, and second only to Boston U. among college programs, and the women's lightweight Youth 4+ placed seventh overall and second among college programs with a time of 19:35.632.
The collegiate women's 8+, which competed with both varsity and novice women, placed fourth overall in 17:31.334.
All results can be found here.